Official MLBlog of the Kansas City Royals front office.

Trey Hillman Pregame Media Session

Meche on the mend

Royals pitcher Gil Meche told manager Trey Hillman yesterday during batting practice that he physically feels the best he has felt in a long while. Hillman said, “Gil always wants the ball, he makes no excuses, he’s a battler, but he has to be a little wiser this time around, he can’t keep pushing himself this hard.”

Ignition

What was the turning point last night with the comeback win against the Indians? If you ask manager Trey Hillman, he’ll tell you, “It was the foul balls Mike Jacobs kept hacking at.” Trey said, “It allowed our hitters time to see what we were working with, it gave us a chance to get our timing down.”

Where everybody knows your name

Manager Trey Hillman was very excited about the turnout last night at Kauffman Stadium. “You have 25,000 people on a Tuesday night watching baseball, that makes these players dig down and search for something extra.” He later said, “It really makes a difference, the adrenaline alone can make amazing things happen.” Later on the manager talked about what a positive thing it was to have that many people show up, not only just for Zack Greinke, but for Royals team itself.

Misc.

Joakim Soria played long toss today and it went very well. He is going to be on a program in the near future that allows him to rest in between certain workouts, so not to over exert him too much. He will stay on flat ground for now, hoping to gradually progress to throwing off the mound. Mike Aviles awoke yesterday to no discomfort in his forearm and told Hillman he feels great. With that good news, Aviles is in the starting line-up tonight against the Indians.

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